Squire VMJ, OLP Musicman or Musicman SUB???

[Linus27]

Having decided to not need a bass and selling my old Fender, I have now decided I am going to need one as I am going to retire my trusty 20 year old ESP. I really want a 2 eq Musicman Stingray but funds really will not stretch that far. So, rather than waste to much money on something good, I want to get something that will just keep me going, do a good solid job, sound half decent, play well, not fall apart and keep me going until I get my Musicman. I may pass it onto my son when he's a bit older and may be interested in playing.

So the short list is,

Squire Vintage Modified Jazz - £215
OLP Musicman Copy - £199
Musicman SUB - £300 - £350 secondhand

I have a Squire Vintage Jazz Fretless and its superb and I love the look of the Vintage Jazz model.

I have heard the OLP Musicman copy is pretty good but really not sure if its better or worse than the Squire.

The Musicman SUB is a bit of a long shot as they are hard to find. Also, not sure if I want to spend that much and if I should just hold out until I can get the Stingray. They are also slab bodies which is a worry.

Any kind of opinions would be most helpfull.

[OutToPlayJazz]

I've had a Squier VMJ & they're a great bass, but the pickups are a little weak. (Don't forget that I tend to compare every bass output-wise to a biblical Status preamp!) Same with many passive Fenders/Squiers, you'll have seen a lot of owners on this server swapping out pickups & adding preamps, etc. On the plus side of this point, I played Terry K's Fender Geddy Lee which has an Audere Pre & pickups the other week. What a great sounding bass!

I played an OLP MM22 (the active twin humbucker one) several times at a friend's shop & that was biblical. Best sounding bass in the shop! (And one of the cheapest.)

I had a pupil who had one of the MM Subs. It was a great bass to play, great sounding preamp & a very fast neck. I know which was I'd go, but as usual in these things, I'd find a good example of each & try them for yourself if you can.

Edited May 11, 2008 by OutToPlayJazz

[ashgeezer]

i personally cant get along with stingray style basses, i just dont like where the pickups are situated, to far back for my liking, i bought one last year when i first started learning and at first it was ok but i soon got p**sed off with it, i still have it but it doesnt get used anymore, i much prefer precision style basses.
i would personally go with the modified jazz as i nearly bought one a few weeks ago but ended up with a mex precision.
Its up to you really, just go with what feels right for you, try something different, you never know you might like it.

[Linus27]

[quote name='ashgeezer' post='196825' date='May 11 2008, 11:59 PM']i personally cant get along with stingray style basses, i just dont like where the pickups are situated, to far back for my liking, i bought one last year when i first started learning and at first it was ok but i soon got p**sed off with it, i still have it but it doesnt get used anymore, i much prefer precision style basses.
i would personally go with the modified jazz as i nearly bought one a few weeks ago but ended up with a mex precision.
Its up to you really, just go with what feels right for you, try something different, you never know you might like it.[/quote]

Is that because you play with a pick. When I owned a Stingray (why did I sell it gggrrr) back in 2000 I think when i played with a pick, the pickup used to get in the way. Playing with fingers was great as you could rest your thumb between the two bumps on the top of the pickup.

The Squire is top of my list as I love Jazz basses.

[Linus27]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='196808' date='May 11 2008, 11:14 PM']I've had a Squier VMJ & they're a great bass, but the pickups are a little weak. (Don't forget that I tend to compare every bass output-wise to a biblical Status preamp!) Same with many passive Fenders/Squiers, you'll have seen a lot of owners on this server swapping out pickups & adding preamps, etc. On the plus side of this point, I played Terry K's Fender Geddy Lee which has an Audere Pre & pickups the other week. What a great sounding bass!

I played an OLP MM22 (the active twin humbucker one) several times at a friend's shop & that was biblical. Best sounding bass in the shop! (And one of the cheapest.)

I had a pupil who had one of the MM Subs. It was a great bass to play, great sounding preamp & a very fast neck. I know which was I'd go, but as usual in these things, I'd find a good example of each & try them for yourself if you can.[/quote]

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

[paul, the]

Go for the VMJ. SUBs aren't that much less than a MM (relatively) and the OLPs I've heard haven't been that impressive (although that could be due to poor backline).

[martthebass]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='196808' date='May 11 2008, 11:14 PM']I've had a Squier VMJ & they're a great bass, but the pickups are a little weak. (Don't forget that I tend to compare every bass output-wise to a biblical Status preamp!) Same with many passive Fenders/Squiers, you'll have seen a lot of owners on this server swapping out pickups & adding preamps, etc. On the plus side of this point, I played Terry K's Fender Geddy Lee which has an Audere Pre & pickups the other week. What a great sounding bass![/quote]

You're just a power freak Rich

L27 - out of the 3 I'd go for the Sub.....................but if you've previously owned a Ray you know you're always going to hanker after one (unless its purely for back-up reasons). With the prices as they are at the mo I'd try and go the distance - you should get a minter for £600 or something pretty decent for £500 - 550. You know it makes sense.

Edited May 12, 2008 by martthebass

[kevbass]

Well, if you're after a musicman type bass dont go for the Squire VMJ. The sub is the best sounding bass out of all of them. I recently got an OLP and the stock pup is pretty hot and loud. My advice to you is probbaly get the OLP and replace the stock pup with a Nordstand or Seymour Duncan MM pup.

[Tait]

personally id go for the VMJ (if you dont mind the neck lol, i hate jazz necks). i've never heard one or played one, but from what ive heard they're great. i used to own a 5 string OLP, they're decent, but they're just cryuing out to have an active preamp put in them. i wasnt too impressed with the SUB, either. its not much better than the OLP, and nowhere near as good as a stingray. they're decent enough... theres nothing bad about them, but nothing great either.

[Doc B]

If it's a MM style bass and/or sound you want you could try a used Status Groove - I could get pretty close to Timmy C's early sound and Flea's Flea bass on my old one (although it did have a graphite neck). These should be available for your budget and are very well made and great to play. Status are also made in England so you can cut down your bass miles and save the planet too

I sold the Groove last month and got a Squier VM Jazz 70s style and put a set of Wizard pups in it (64s in this case). I'm also getting a Bad Ass 2 fitted soon as well. With a complete set of new electronics (inc. pots) the Squier sounds fantastic and I like it as much as my old Warwick Streamer Std2. I've found that I prefer the sounds from a twin pickup bass, in fact I tend to mainly the bridge pup on full with about 25% neck pup.

A bit of distortion on my SansAmp and I can pretty much nail Timmy C's Audioslave sound as well as more trad 70s style and Hooky-esque tones. I love the neck on the Jazz - black blocks on maple too - lovely. The Wizards make the Squier very responsive to control changes and picking positions and are quite powerful for passive single coils IMO. The Wizard 84s are more powerful and darker apparently.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Doc B

[Lfalex v1.1]

I have an OLP MM3 and its big bubba... An SR5, fretless though.
I also have a Squire VMJ and its big bubba... An MIA S1 Jazz.

The OLP is just like a more crude version of the 'Ray. Neck's good, likewise the fretwork. The OLPs have Basswood bodies that lack the tonal clout of their Ash, Alder or Poplar 'Rays.
Naturally the EQ is absent, but the ability to control both coils of the P/Up yields various sonic possibilities.

As for the Jazzes, they're like chalk and cheese!
The MIA has a rosewood board, Ash body, The S1 circuit and is strung thru-body via a standard Fender bridge. It wears Fender Nickel 7150 strings and just purrs when you play it.
The VMJ has a Maple body, Maple board and a top-loading BadAss II. It wears DR FatBeam strings and sounds like a toned-down Marcus Miller.

The VMJ is excellent, but it can't reproduce what a full-on 2EQ 'Ray does, any more than a 'Ray can produce a convincing Jazz tone...

[Jono Bolton]

I'm tempted to get an OLP and do this sort of thing: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=14009&hl=pimp+mah+olp"]Neepheid's 'Pimp Mah OLP' Thread[/url]

Simple but effective mods for an OLP to make it a great bass for not a lot of scratch. A router is needed, but as OldGit points out you can get a bettery box routed and installed for £20. To save extra cash, there's a couple of nice OLPs in the Marketplace.

[XB26354]

I'd say the Squier VMJ - an astonishing bass for the money, a couple of my students have bought them and love them. Try a few if you can though - quality does vary. I played a couple of OLPs and whilst they looked nice and had a definite Stingray tone, it sounded cheap to me. The VMJ also had more tonal variety - I didn't find the SC Pickups (Seymour Duncan designed I believe) to be any weaker than your typical passive Jazz.
The Sub is, I think a lot more money so difficult to compare.

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='Doc B' post='198118' date='May 13 2008, 04:57 PM']The Wizards make the Squier very responsive to control changes and picking positions and are quite powerful for passive single coils IMO. The Wizard 84s are more powerful and darker apparently.[/quote]

I'm considering the Wizard 84's for mine... but not just yet... Currently, I'm very happy with the stock pickups with a set of nylon tape-wound LaBella flats...

[lee4]

Have you tried a Yamaha BB414?Very solid and bass heavy sound that has so far managed to cut through 9 other people at a rehearsal!

[budget bassist]

The SUB all the way, it has THE musicman sound and active pickups which none of the others have, awesome basses. I have one,though i am currently considering adding a squier VMJ fretted to my collection.

[Kev]

grab an OLP, sub seems a bit expensive at the current market for you, and tbh for a bit more than that you could buy the stingray, the real thing. i did always despise the lack of contouring of the SUB, great sound but uncomfortable. OLP's sound great, and they have the HH versions now

[budget bassist]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='199649' date='May 15 2008, 02:58 PM']grab an OLP, sub seems a bit expensive at the current market for you, and tbh [color="#FF0000"]for a bit more[/color] than that you could buy the stingray, the real thing. i did always despise the lack of contouring of the SUB, great sound but uncomfortable. OLP's sound great, and they have the HH versions now [/quote]
A bit more? Try double the price!

[dub_junkie]

G&L Tribute L-2000? It does a ton of bass sounds and it just kills the 3 basses you mention imo

[stoo]

Can't fault my OLP MM22 for the money. Active, twin pup, 3EQ, plays nice, looks nice, stays in tune well, sounds fantastic.

The only thing that shows it up as a budget bass, to my mind at least, is the cheap nut. Might look into putting a nicer one on there when restring time comes around. Apart from that, I don't think there's a thing on there that I'd want to change.

[Kev]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='199989' date='May 15 2008, 10:29 PM']A bit more? Try double the price![/quote]
not in the current market mate

ebay wise

sub for about £400

stringray for about £550

do the math

[Jobiebass]

550?? where are you looking? I saw a Sub go for 450 last week and ray's go for 600-50

[Machines]

£550 is a low figure for a Stingray - just because some may sell for it doesn't mean they all do .

[Linus27]

Yeah Stingrays are more like £650 - £750. SUB's are more like £350.

[budget bassist]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='200458' date='May 16 2008, 02:34 PM']not in the current market mate

ebay wise

sub for about £400

stringray for about £550

do the math [/quote]
There's a sub on ebay now for £350 BIN, and where can you get a ray for £550????!!! And most rays i've seen on ebay haven't gone for under £700, there's the odd one that does but ya know. IMO i wouldn't pay more than £350 for a sub and £700 seems good for a ray... but that's just me.

And to keep on topic, i'd go for the SUB personally, best of the bunch, but also more expensive, the VMJ is equally good for the price i reckon, as i'm trying to get my hands on one. I wouldn't bother with OLP personally unless it was the tony levin 5.

Edited May 16, 2008 by budget bassist